SEMIOTICS AND PERCEPTION: DO LABELS CONVEY THE SAME MESSAGES TO OLDER AND YOUNGER CONSUMERS?

Abstract

In this competitive world, a package has only a few seconds to make an impact and catch the consumer's eye. In that time, a successful label should communicate its message and convince the shopper. Considering the importance of transmitting an adequate, and in some occasions, the "perfect" message, it is crucial to understand how consumers perceive and interpret the labels from a semiotic perspective, which has not been considered in depth. In this context, the objective of the present study was to gather information on how consumers of different age groups read the profiles of symbolic labels and what they construe. A word association task was performed with 101 participants (50 aged below 35 years old, 51 aged 60 and over). Participants were asked to write down all that came to their minds when they saw five simple images of yogurt labels, which were constructed by combining a variety of signs. All the elicited terms were grouped into 54 categories and then into nine general dimensions. Though some main messages were conveyed successfully, relevant differences were found in perceptions and interpretations of the two age cohorts. Youngsters made more references to the specific attributes of the expected product, whereas the elders assigned more global and hedonic meanings.